Archive for the ‘2008’ Category

As we reported last month (Down The Snake Hole), Chrysler hasn't had an easy time finding a buyer for their Viper brand. That stuck me as kind of odd, because everybody in the auto nation knows that every true enthusiasts and rich guy, sooner or later, dreams about having their own car company.

Now AutoWeek is filling in some of the backstory on what was going on behind the scenes regarding the potential sale of the Viper brand. Why do I care, because the 2009 Dodge Viper is an elemental performance car that I'd hate to see go away.

Apparently, Chrysler management wasn't too keen to fire sale the Viper brand, product, factory. As AutoWeek...

Not long ago, we told you about the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. Now, we can tell you something about what the new package will cost ... about $4,000 more than base Corvette.

After a quick call to General Motors PR to confirm the official pricing for the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette coupe and convertible (we like to confirm things at TCC), we learned that the folks at CorvetteBlogger.com had a real scoop. The site reported that pricing was announced today, but in fact, GM hasn't publicly released that information. Our source noted that 2010 pricing information will be released shortly.

According to the information leaked to the Corvette...

Honda and Volkswsagen are two notable auto manufacturers with far-flung markets that are helping them weather - and thrive despite - the tough sales downturn. Honda's sales in China, up 11.7 percent for 2008 due to strong sales of its Accord and CR-V, actually helped it post record high global production of 3.96 million units for 2008, 1.2 percent higher than 2007 production.

The Russian market has turned out to be a boon to Volkswagen, who increased sales of light trucks like the Caddy, T5 van, and Crafter delivery truck to that market by 78 percent for 2008. The Wolfsburg-based VW Group managed a 0.6 worldwide sales increase for 2008,...